Herb Alpert & TJB Christmas Album

I always knew this was one I should have picked up long ago, because now that I really want one, it's of course gone.

I've been looking around, hoping to find a leftover copy of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' Christmas Album, which of course is out of print. Knowing full well that eventually, Herb will put all of this stuff out again, I have no plans to fall for that whole eBay trick of paying the $50 to $75 I see the CD version going for. So then, I suppose the easiest thing to do would be to find a vinyl copy and do a needle drop to CD-R.

The question being, is there any major difference in the mastering to the 60's vinyl version and the later reissue (the one with the white border around Herb's picture)? I imagine the reissue would be cheaper and easier to find, but if it wasn't done well, why bother?

 

Well, since I've seen both vinyl editions at flea markets for 50c in good shape....if you don't have to pay much, get the reissue and give it a shot. I've seen many, never bought one; probably it sounds pretty good, since as a seasonal release it wouldn't have gone through as many pressings as some of their mega-sellers did. And no, I wouldn't pay any premium for a CD edition.

ED

 

Hey Reechie....

Do you really care all that much? You know youre going to replace the needle drop with the CD when it comes out, anyway. Plus, if you do the cheapie CDR now, you can look at your leaisure and when you find an original mint stereo copy at the goodwill for 1.00, then you can upgrade, if the Cd isnt out yet.

Thats what I do with a lot of things and it seems to let me have all the stuff I need without spending a fortune.

Mikeyh

 

Well, I wouldn't want a copy that was hammered like the one I had when I was a kid, but there's also the collectible thing involved. It'd be neat to have a nice copy for the collection as well.

 

Patience...

As part of his settlement with Univer$al, Herb got the rights to, I believe, everything he and the Brass recorded for A&M. As a result, all the TJB CD's have gone out of print except for one "greatest hits" compilation. My guess is that within two years, most of Herb's catalog will be back in print on CD, perhaps even with a long-overdue box set, and the outrageous prices that many impatient eBayers are paying will be far, far less outrageous, even for the originals (unless they royally screw up the remasters ... and Steve Hoffman has hinted that he may be working on at least one TJB album, so that's not likely).

In the meantime, find a copy on vinyl and burn a CD-R for leisure use. I have both versions; I suspect that the reissue is merely a budget-line repackaging of the original, with the same mix. Maybe Rudy@A&M Corner will chime in here, or I'll add it to my growing A/B list.

 

Thanks for the advice folks, looks like I was able to find a CD copy for $15 though gemm.com.

 

Wow, I was surprised to hear the Xmas album was out of print. I bought it back in the mid-90's and have seen it so many times in the Xmas section at Tower every holiday. Glad I didn't miss it, but I do regret not buying George Harrison Warner CDs when they were re-issued, now I'll have to wait for the remasters.

 

Not Rudy, but maybe I'll do. The re-issue of the TJB's Christmas album (SP-3113) came out in the early '80s. It's a straight sonic re-issue, and the one I have is pretty clean-sounding. They did change the jacket artwork, making it look more "budget" as you say. When the CD was issued a year or so later, they used the cheapy SP-3113 artwork. Too bad.. the original artwork was so much more classy.

The Christmas Album is our Album Of The Week over at A&M Corner. http://www.amcorner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1108

 

Now I'm curious...Did Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 ever do a Christmas LP?

 

Sergio Mendes & Christmas

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 only recorded one Christmas tune for release on an A&M "special products" album that featured a bunch of A&M artists doing seasonal songs. Their selection was "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...)" and the album is called Something Festive. It was released in the US in conjunction with BF Goodrich and has that logo underneath the A&M banner on the cover. Label was standard ochre colored '60s-era label.

Our A&M Corner discussion on this can be found here:
http://www.amcorner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1078

 

Re: Sergio Mendes & Christmas

Appreciate it, They are one of my favorites.

 

Mendes at Christmas

Actually, if you want to stretch your definition of Christmas music a bit, Sergio Mendes DID do a version of "My Favorite Things" on his Favorite Things album he did for Atlantic in finishing up his commitment to that label in 1967. It's a jazzy piano treatment of the familiar song, not really Christmas-y, but , as I said, if you use your imagination a bit...

Also, lead singer of Brasil '66 (and Mrs. Herb Alpert), Lani Hall, did a solo album in 1998 for Windham Hill Jazz. Part of that association was that she did a song for release on that label's various artists Christmas compilation that year called A Jazz Christmas. Her contribution is an understated and lovely rendition of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" accompanied by harp.

 

Harry, that Windam Hill album was great by Lani! I was looking forward to hearing more from her there! Windam seemed to pick up a few interesting artists like Lani and Michael Franks, only to sadly drop them just as quick!

I also miss new releases from Herb! Whatever happened to Almo Sounds??? Did they just quietly shut off the lights and lock the doors one day or what? I was expecting another great A&M-like label to form, but other than Garbage and a few other choice releases, they were gone! I too, stand as a proud fan of A&M and it's heritage! I was in heaven with artists like Gino Vannelli, The Carpenters, Peter Allen, Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 and of course, Herb Alpert & The TJB! Back in the late 80's, while visiting L.A., my wife and I hunted down the A&M "Chaplin" lot and stood outside those gates, wishing that someone would have given us a tour and introduced us to Herb & Jerry! Big dreamers, huh?

Chris C

 

I loved Lani's Brasil Nativo album. A lot of fans expressed dismay at the generally lethargic feel to it. I think one or two of the tunes tend to drag the overall feel down lower than it really was. The opening track, "Tres Curumins" was really something special, as was the English language "Meant To Be."

The last we heard anything was that Herb was working on an album with Lani. That was a couple of years ago, and nothing's been heard since, other than rumblings here about Steve and some mono TJB tracks being sought. With Almo Sounds being folded into Universal, and Windham Hill now part of the RCA Victor group, we couldn't begin to guess what label Herb might end up with, should he do another album. His most recent Definitive Hits comp was on the A&M/Universal label, but that release may have been part of a settlement of lawsuits between him and the conglomerate that now owns his former company. So much of the former A&M Records catalog remains out-of-print that one has to wonder what will ultimately become of it.